@homecafe - A match 'maid' in heaven

Today I was lucky enough to make my first trip ever to Akihabara, famous electronics haven, otaku gathering point, and home to a ton of maid cafes. For the uninitiated, maid cafes are simple restaurants where pretty girls in incredibly cute maid outfits serve you food and have cute conversations with you in Japanese. As you can probably tell, cute is a word I will be using heavily throughout this blog entry. This trip, which I made with my friend Hikari, was the first time for either of us to go to a maid cafe.

There is a strict no photo policy! Food photos are fine though

The maid cafe we chose was @homecafe, considered by many to be the original maid cafe. Currently @homecafe is so popular that there are different locations all over Akihabara. We chose the original (本店) location on the fourth floor. In that building alone, 4 of the 7 floors were purely dedicated to @home maid cafes. Hikari and I were both pretty nervous waiting in line, which even during the least busy time was still impressively long.

Yes, that is four floors of @homecafe and a goods shop

After finally making our way into the maid cafe amidst cries of いらっしゃいませ！ (irasshaimase!) we were seated in a packed bench with elbows touching. Surprisingly the guests were roughly fifty percent female and fifty percent male. Even getting in to a maid cafe is about 500 yen, and combined with the dessert set, which includes a dessert, drink, and photo with a maid of my choice, the total came out to about 2100 yen. Not cheap, but its not every day you get to be referred to as お嬢様 (ojou-sama) either.

My 'Tsundere' parfait. Half sour (tsuntsun), half sweet (deredere)

Upon receiving my dessert, complete with the necessary "moe, moe, kyun!" and heart shaped gestures, Hikari and I ate our desserts, until "Sarah Ojou Sama" was asked to come to the front stage. I was pretty nervous, but luckily my Japanese hadn`t failed me yet. After some negotiations on which set of ears to wear, (I chose bunny) and which pose, (I chose heart), I took a picture together with the maid of my choice (つなさん）．Hikari and I had to leave soon after, as due to the popularity, there is a strict one hour time limit. After being presented with bronze membership cards, and called Ojou-sama one last time, we were led from the maid cafe. An expensive outing, but one that can only be found in Japan, and is truely worth experiencing at least once!

The rise of the ヲタ / ヲタのようになる

Japan hosts a wide variety of otaku, of which many are infamous. In the West, people commonly think of an otaku as one who enjoys anime and manga. While there are anime and manga otaku in Japan, it's not uncommon to find, for example, train and camera otaku as well, especially in Akihabara. However, in the upper-middle part of the spectrum lie idol otaku, who generally obsess over the latest idol or pop bands and records.

The idol otaku subgroup is a very distinct community, even among other otaku. AKB48, for example, has a cafe which stands out even in Akihabara, a place known for its dozens and dozens of various hobby and esoteric shops.

AKB48, having its own cafe, is one of the most popular idol brands.

The idol otaku subculture has even coined a specific term, ヲタ, which describes an idol otaku. (In the West, this is usually pronounced "WOE-tah", whereas the Japanese pronounce it more correctly as オタ ota.) This term is derived from the first two syllables of the term おたく, then stylized with an identically sounding, but archaic, character. Though it is derived from the term otaku, it is generally used to refer only to idol otaku, not others (anime, manga, train, etc.).

Akihabara and Shibuya specifically feature Tower Records, a very widely known record company. After all, no music means no life!

Idol brands, due to being so influential (both within and outside of the idol otaku community), are often used to sell other merchandise brands. For example, AKB48 (as mentioned above) was featured in a candy commercial several years ago. This popularity often plays on the 推しメン mentality, which has fans buy things because of the attachment to their favorite idol.

Like idols, anime and manga characters are often used to sell products or entire brand lines.

推しメン comes from the term 推し oshi, meaning "a fan of", and メン men, which (in context) is short for メンバー menbaa, from the English word "member". It generally refers to a fan's favorite member of a particular idol group.

While Candies (キャンディーズ) is widely considered to be the first idol group in the 1970's, the current idol formula started in the late 1990s with the success of hello!project and Morning Musume's song "Love Machine" which gained mainstream success and sold almost 1.7 million copies, making it a #1 single in Japan.

At this same time, as the internet otaku community took off online, and obsessive fans began messaging each other to progress their undying love for a particular idol, compare recent idol purchases and the like. The specific evolution of idol otaku and the term ヲタ was centered around online message boards such as 2ch's Morning Coffee, in an attempt to distinguish themselves from anime otaku.

While the following Morning Musume singles also had mainstream success, the general public moved on to other artists and other types of music. Because of this, wota have for a long time been the main target of idol groups, leading to policies such as no dating (with several idols being 'graduated' after a dating scandal, and effectively banned from ever performing again), handshake events, and lottery-style giveaways that rewarded otaku for buying multiple copies of a single.

A specific example is with the release of a recent AKB48 single, "Everyday, Kachuusha". One particular fan bought over 5,500 copies of the single in order to attend such lottery-style events. Generally, the paychecks of idol otaku, who are as dedicated as this one, are put largely toward such purchases.

An unnamed idol otaku has hoarded thousands of copies of a newly released AKB48 single. [Source]

As obsessive fans, wota memorize their chosen idol's birthday, height, blood type and favorite color. At concerts, wota purchase glow sticks in their idol's chosen color, and memorize a set dance for each song. These dances are called ヲタ芸 wotagei, and are a unique form of audience participation present only at idol concerts.

The idol otaku subculture has grown massively in the last several years, especially with the rise of the internet. Such a medium has provided the ability to stream and download music, watch idol-related videos through services such as YouTube, or even connect with other like-minded idol otaku. Because of the improving ease of communication within this group, their unique language and culture has grown immensely, and shows no signs of slowing down.

Moe moe kyun~! / 萌え 萌え きゅん～！

This post is written by Peter and Sarah.

Those who are familiar with otaku culture will already know the term moe (萌え) as a natural concept. Those outside are often confused with the definition and the obsession over this slang term. The term itself is hard to define and there are various definitions of it. There's no denying the huge influence it has had on otaku culture though.

The most common definition for moe refers to a particular feeling one gets towards a fictional or non-fictional character. It may be directed towards a particular character or a characteristic archetype (more on this later). In general, it stands for "cuteness" or "adorableness" rather than sexual attraction, but that can vary depending on the otaku. Other definitions include a "pure protective feeling" akin to a parental relationship towards their children. The definition is intentionally vague, because otaku culture itself varies, and different otaku will consider different things to be moe.

Nomura Research Institute defined the slang word as a pun from the word 萌える (moeru), meaning "to bloom, or budding", as moe characters are usually young and developing characters rather than more mature ones. Another source may have been 燃える (moeru), meaning "to burn", where your heart is "burning for passion". The physical feeling that some claim they get from moe is similar to the feeling of wanting to cuddle an adorable kitten or puppy upon first sight. 

Characters commonly defined as moe today are typically young, cute, and innocent girls. Otakus are usually attracted to a specifc character archetype rather than specific characters, but some otaku claim to fall in love with a character and declare them as their "waifu". This is the 4chan definition of waifu (NSFW Language and content warning). This is a primarily western otaku term, but Japanese have a similar concept with some extreme cases participating in  嫁との晩餐 (yome to no bangohan, lit. dinner with wife), where otaku celebrate holidays with their virtual partner.

An otaku celebrating Christmas with their virtual "waifu".

Here are some other popular archetypes:

• Tsundere (ツンデレ) - A character that is initially hostile and cold (tsun tsun ツンツン, meaning turning away in disgust) , but slowly warms up and shows their warmer side (dere dere デレデレ, meaning lovey-dovey).
• Yandere (ヤンデレ) - A character that appears perfectly innocent and charming at first, but are actually obsessive or controlling towards their love interest, often showing insanity episodes invoked by jealously.
• Meganekko (眼鏡っ娘) - Literally means glasses-wearing girls. While their glasses are the main focus, these characters are usually quiet and sweet, but very smart and pleasant.
• Kemonomimi (獣耳) - Characters with animal features, such as cat ears (nekomimi 猫耳), fang teeth, and tails.
• Imouto (妹) - Characters that fit strongly into the little sister/big brother dynamic, often going into the incestual territory.
• Zettai Ryouiki (絶対領域) - Not a specific character type, but referring to the bare skin between the skirt and knee high socks.
• And much more including maid (メイド), shrine maiden (巫女, miko), loli, energetic girl (元気), clumsy girl, etc.

Rin from Fate/Stay Night is the standard go-to tsundere example.

'Moe points' give otaku the chance to gather and discuss their favorite charm points and characters. As otaku are traditionally solitary creatures, outside of otaku conventions most of this discussion happens on online boards like 2ch, where topics (スレ - threads in 2ch parlance) discussing top ten moe characters, debate over which characters are or aren't moe, or which moe point is best are common. As moe has continued to gain traction in the otaku community, animators and マンガ家 (mangaka - creators of manga) have started to intentionally target this part of otaku culture. Some people even say that moe has taken over the industry, because it is easy to market and can reach wider audiences than the age-old "sex sells" advertising.

Moe sells.

Moe is also gradually beginning to spread throughout Japanese culture. The other day, a Japanese female friend (and definitely not an Otaku) complimented Sarah as "めっちゃ萌える" and described it as meaning "ridiculously cute." Another Japanese woman stated that most young Japanese people knew the word and what it meant in the otaku culture, but would almost certainly never use it because of the negative view of otaku.  Using "moe" in the sense of cute associates someone with otaku culture, so it's likely that the vast majority of people will describe someone as かわいい even if referring to typically 萌え features such as fang-teeth or glasses. However, even if the terms aren't directly used, it is certainly more prevalent in everyday culture as a cute way of attraction attention.

A poster from the Kyoto Municipal Subway's Moe Moe Project.

Training to be a Train Otaku / What is a 鉄道おたく?

A 電車おたく or 鉄道おたくis someone who is extremely enthusiastic about trains, often to the point of knowing numerous statistics and models such as top speed, maximum number of passengers, and the best place to take train pictures. Frequently 鉄道おたく gather at specific locations to take pictures of trains, either to keep, or to exchange with other otaku on otaku message boards like 2ch, pronounced にーちゃんねる.

鉄道, translating to "railway" is composed of the Kanji 鉄 (てつ) meaning "iron," and 道 (どう) meaning "way."

鉄 is the same kanji used to refer to iron content within the body, so a 鉄道おたくmight joke like "I have an iron deficiency because I haven't ridden a train for two weeks."

鉄道おたくare not solely found in Japan, and are called by different names in other countries. Some such names include "railway buff," "railfan," and "trainspotter" in countries such as Australia, America, and England.

Another example of a 鉄道おたくin another country who saw some internet fame is Jay Tan, a self-professed 鉄道おたく from Singapore. In 2011 upon the opening of the Circle Line, Jay Tan was one of the few individuals taking the first ride on the train early that Saturday morning. He was interviewed, and the video gained quite a bit of popularity on the internet.

"I am too excited, could not sleep last night. I want to board the first train."

Though not Japanese, Jay Tan is a prime example of a 鉄道おたく!